What to Serve–or Not–During Black History Month

posted at 3:28 pm on February 13, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Political Correctness ]   

February is Black History Month, and kitchens in black homes everywhere are filled with the intoxicating aromas of crispy duck with glogg sauce, dill-crusted Arctic char in a Pinot Noir reduction, and pan-roasted venison chops with fruit-and-berry chutney and fois gras ganache. Or not. Maybe I’m confusing the scent of that quintessentially African-American creation—horseradish-crusted grouper—with that of another down-home southern specialty, sautéed zucchini-wrapped shrimp with mixed wild mushrooms and fresh thyme.

Confused? Me, too. Another Black History Month is upon us, and with it another scandal. Last year, a fusillade of angry protests rang out over NBC’s audacious decision to honor black American culture by serving collard greens and black-eyed peas in its cafeteria. This year, cries of racism are still flying over U.C. Irvine’s outrageous plan to serve chicken and waffles on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Not to worry, though. The Aramark Corporation, which runs the university’s dining hall, has mandated that the kitchen staff undergo “sensitivity training” so they’ll know better in the future.

Of course, unless someone explains to them what they should be serving as representative black cooking, it’s hard to imagine they won’t commit the same politically incorrect faux pas next time. After all, the cretin who planned the NBC commissary menu last year was herself black, and even she wasn’t aware that serving soul food was an insult.

I recommend honoring Black History Month by serving the dishes detailed in the first paragraph. The first three were designed by Marcus Samuelsson when he was chef at the upscale Scandinavian restaurant Aquavit. Samuelsson, in case the name fails to ring a bell, was born in Ethiopia to black parents, who named him Kassahun Tsegie. (His name was later changed by the Swedish geologist who adopted him and his sister.) The second two recipes were signature dishes of the late Patrick Clark, who was executive chef of The Odeon and Café Luxembourg here in New York. Clark, too, was of color.

None of these dishes can be dismissed as “talking down” to blacks. Neither, it could be argued, can the food at Sylvia’s, the institution in Harlem, which has at least as many white people as blacks lining up on Sunday for their specialty. Which happens to be chicken and waffles.

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